eternal sleep
- noun
- /ɪˈtɜrnəl slip/
- Literature
:
sueño eterno
- The old man spoke of eternal sleep as a peaceful end to a long life.
Examples
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Rise from your eternal sleep.
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Yes, eternal sleep.
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After battling illness for years, she welcomed her eternal sleep with open arms.
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Many cultures have different beliefs about what happens after eternal sleep.
Synonyms
138
8.8
A peaceful state of being dead after life ends
5
7.1
A peaceful state after death that lasts forever
1
9.9
A peaceful rest after death often used in poems
1
8.4
A deep peaceful rest after living a good life
To die peacefully, people say this as a gentle way to talk about someone's death
To die as a Christian who trusts in God and expects life after death
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase combines the clear meanings of 'eternal' (without end) and 'sleep' (a state of resting), so a learner can infer 'never-ending sleep' and thus death. This metaphorical use of sleep for death is common cross-linguistically and follows an obvious compositional pattern, making it understandable to a B1 learner who knows both words.
Etymology
The phrase eternal sleep uses a simple picture: eternal means never-ending and sleep is calm rest, so it imagines someone resting forever. That's why people use it as a gentle way to talk about 'death'.